Nikki Ferrell and Juan Pablo Galavis of "The Bachelor" broke up in October. Host Chris Harrison got her to talk about the split at the premiere for the new season. Photo: ABC

Nikki Ferrell and Juan Pablo Galavis may have been happy to be “free” of “The Bachelor” franchise after their chaotic 2014 season, but the scorned reality starlet is back in the limelight now that she’s “free” of Juan Pablo. The 28-year-old pediatric nurse was on hand at the 2015 premiere of “The Bachelor” to celebrate Chris Soules’ journey to find love … and reveal the reason behind her break up with the “worst bachelor ever.”

Nikki and Juan Pablo split in October, but the single blonde beauty had no problem opening up shallow wounds.

She might be happy now, but there was a point when “Bachelor” viewers weren’t happy with her. Juan Pablo’s season finale concluded with him dumping Clare Crawley and offering his final rose to Nikki – even though he didn’t propose. While an engagement isn’t mandatory on the series, things became uncomfortable and awkward during the “After the Final Rose” special when Nikki sat in silence and Juan Pablo refused to say if he was in love with her. Fans wanted Nikki to leave Juan Pablo, leading the pair to have an “us against them” outlook following the show. According to the former contestant, a big struggle with that night was having their relationship in the public eye, and the fact that Juan Pablo was not “comfortable expressing his feelings.”

“As his girlfriend I wanted to respect that. I wanted to stand by my man,” Nikki explained. “I cared about him and I wanted to be a good girlfriend … so that’s what I chose to do that night.”

Ferrell continued that it was difficult not having the support of the public, and that she felt that Juan Pablo was misunderstood. But the spotlight wasn’t what ended their relationship. She admitted that there were numerous factors in their breakup – a major one being their different lifestyles.

“It’s not from a lack of trying on either side,” Nikki explained, citing her job as a nurse in Kansas City and Juan Pablo’s gig in the “entertainment industry.” According to her, she just didn’t fit into that world.

“I wasn’t going to quit,” she added. “I’m not a quitter. I tried everything. I know he tried too – it wasn’t one-sided. … We really tried, not “TV tried.”

Although Nikki didn’t bash her ex, she did take a quick swipe at him by informing the public that she wasn’t a high priority on his list. With Juan Pablo having a young daughter, Camilla, Nikki never expected to be his “number one priority,” but there is a “difference between being a second and seventh priority.”

“There was a while where he was totally in love with me,” Nikki said of her tumultuous relationship with “The Bachelor” star. “Was it too late? Probably … I think at that point I had just come to the conclusion that we’re different people and we’re never going to be on the same page.”